Honestly maybe

In my opinion, honesty is always the best policy. While some truths really hurt, be it yourself or the recipient of said statement, some are worth the risk of being told. I cannot remember, for the sake of me, the last time I lied. As in lied. Even at Christmas, I usually avoid any questions because I know I can give away the faintest clues with only as much as a look. The irony, to anyone who has ever known me, is that I have always dreamt of being an actress (among other things, but that was the most important one). However, when it comes to people I care about, I cannot bring myself to tell the tinniest fib.

The fact is that, ever since I can remember, my mother has always taught me two lessons I always consider when making important decisions:

Never owe anything to anyone. When I was younger, I never understood how incredibly broad the meaning of it was. I first thought it was meant as economically and, of course, did not manage to keep up a good face when I realized the many mistakes I made once I saw the expensive consequences. Now that I am older, and have experienced more realistic settings, I should add the following: never have anyone owe you anything. I do not wish to elaborate about the whole matter right now, mostly because I am feeling lazy but also because I may have nothing to talk about in the future.

No one can blame you for being honest. I strongly believe that honesty is a person’s most valuable possession. Nevertheless, I have to point out that truth and honesty have that slight nuance worth mentioning. For example, while someone can be honest about an event that happened in their past, the truth about it will always remain the same. That person however may grow and realize that, in some aspects, they may have been wrong to think some kind of way or have a certain opinion about the facts that have influenced their judgment, thus, their “honesty”.

If you lost my train of thought, it is normal... it happens a lot... even to me... do not be scared... keep reading... it does not get better but my self-esteem will be thankful...

What I mean is that, based on our own upbringing, education, travels, experiences and so on, our minds create a filter that goes through everything we see, hear, taste, touch, smell or feel and it usually clouds our judgement on what is true and what is not. The good thing about growing up is that, at some point, you learn that admitting a mistake to yourself and somebody else is worthless because it made an honest man out of you. (or whatever the quote is...)

Honesty can bring you anywhere but also bring you many things, for example the good graces of a teacher who missed a spelling mistake in an essay they just gave you back and pointing it out helps them see how nice you actually are. Although she told me I should not have said anything but, like I told her, I would have felt bad knowing it was there and seeing my mark unchanged in the academic records.